Formal Analysis of The Land of the Magic Flute
With its mixture of a heroic storyline, Motzart’s symphony, and digital art design, The Land of the Magic Flute is a perfect example of digital media that encompasses Kirby Ferguson’s argument of “Everything Is A Remix”. Taking already existing content and remixing it into something “new”. Filled with drawings, animation, seven arias, and excerpts of Mozart’s work, this narrative uses sounds and visuals to create a engaging interactive experience.
Imagine this, there is a protagonist, a princess who needs saving, a mentor of the protagonist who goes along the journey, an antagonist, and lets not forget a love triangle. Sounds familiar? When it comes to storytelling, that storyline is common for majority of narratives and can be a standard baseline of inspiration for many digital authors.
Take The Land of the Magic Flute for instance, which is a forty-five minute digital remake of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte or “The Magic Flute”. It begins with main character Tamino crashing his car into a lake, on a stormy night, and coming to in The Land of the Magic Flute- the place between the sun and the moon. Papageno, a creature in a bird suit, runs into three ladies and they take Tamino to see the Night Queen because he is the Prince. The Night Queen requests that Tamino save her daughter Pamina from enslavement by Sarastro and she will return him to his “realm”. The ladies then gives Tamino a flute to help assist him on his journey to save her daughter. While that is happening, the evil Sarastro is planning to use Tamino as a sacrifice to finish his master plan. A plot twist appears and it turns out that the Night Queen is the true villain and she, her ladies, and Monosatos- Sarastro’s slave- try and attack but are defeated and banished.
The similarities between The Land of the Magic Flute, “The Magic Flute”, and other narratives/motion graphics back up Ferguson’s claim that the storyline isn’t stemming from a completely original idea. However, while this story’s narrative may derive from another, there is a key factor that sets it apart.
What really makes The Land of the Magic Flute stand out from other motion graphics is its incorporation of music. The “Magic Flute” is originally an opera composed by Mozart. During each climax of the narrative, a excerpt of Mozart’s work plays in the background. There is no voice over expressing the characters points of views so the viewer must read off the written conversations that pop up on the screen themselves. In addition, this also helps to convey the importance for the music to have an impact on the viewer, to allow the viewer to experience the opera and interact in a whole new way.
That turns our attention to the role of the viewer and the changes in the way they are experiencing the narrative. When a viewer sits in the audience at the Opera, they are physically participating in the live soundscape experience. When as a viewer sitting at home on the couch, watching and participating in The Land of the Magic Flute as a motion graphic novel, they are interacting within its convergence digital experience. This raises questions of the different impacts that the two performances have on the viewer. Yes, The Land of the Magic Flute brings Opera to a new light, but is it as effective in engaging the viewer to the music as Opera is or vise versa.
Or on the other hand, does the motion graphic’s contemporary style help bring in a newer, younger audience? This also ties into Ferguson’s “Everything Is A Remix”. The Land of the Magic Flute, is a good example when wanting to see both sides of taking something that exists and remixing it into something “new”. Yes, the graphic novel is a cut up spin off version of Mozart’s Opera, however, drawing pictures and creating life in the form of a cartoon to represent Opera is a new experience in itself. I had never heard of a graphic novel opera before and it is something that will bring more creative and bigger ideas to the digital media table.
The Land of the Magic Flute is a interesting and new take on traditional media and a great example of bringing one’s own “remix” to life. It brings to light Ferguson’s theory and, while at the same time offers new and engaging interactions for its participants and viewers.
